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txulrich-
I love the idea of the mat/sit pad idea, and I must say that yours is much more advanced than mine. I just use a peice of wal-mart blue cc foam for my pad. I am definantely making your version tonight!

Slowhike-
I know alot of people use the end caps you are talking about. Could you PM me with plans to make them or a place where I can get plans/ buy the end caps. Thanks sorry to hijack. I digress.

"Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle" - Casting Crowns

I am interested in this topic as well. I'd rather know what to do with all of my stuff before I get out in the woods and realize that I need somewhere to put it!

As I've got no hammock camping experience myself, I can only go from the pictures I have seen. All of the stuff mentioned previously, as well as shoe laces tied together and hung over the ridgeline, with the shoes hanging outside the hammock... somewhere toward one of the ends (or out the entry slit if you're in a HH).

I knew that I would be glad that I kept the CCF I cut into pieces for another (failed) project. Now I can use it for a sit pad/extra padding for the cold spots in the hammock/all kinds of good stuff!

My tarp is in an outside pocket so that I can get it out without opening my pack. While setting up my tarp, the pack leans against whatever tree it leans against. Once the tarp is set up, I move the pack under it & get my hammock out. If I chose my site poorly, & am setting up over a mud pit, I deploy my sit pad to keep the pack off of / out of the mud. When the hammock is set up, I hang the pack from the ridgeline with a small Biner, at which ever end is furthest away from the end (& therfore the rain), usually at my head so I can fetch stuff from the pack without getting out of bed. My boots just sit on the ground. I love the gear hammock, but after a while, I slowly stopped using it. No reason for not using it, I just didn't "bother", so I took it off a few weeks ago. Did a trip to RRG without it, didn't miss it.

When taking down my camp, I just reverse the process almost exactly.

It helps if you put EVERYTHING in exactly the same place EVERYTIME! this reduces the amount of time the pack is open during bad weather when you need something.

Doctari.

When you have a backpack on, no matter where you are, you’re home.
PAIN is INEVITABLE. MISERY is OPTIONAL.

One great features of the Speer Winter Tarp that I found is that it provides easy access and great protection for my gear. As I said, I hang my pack off the head end of my hammock, right on the suspension line. You can close the doors on that end of the hammock while leaving the foot end wide open. With the doors of the tarp closed my pack is protected from the weather and all I have to do to get to it is to reach through the slit.

“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." -Terry Pratchett

Mule does this lately

I put extra clothing under my knees and head, take a Platypus for under my knees too if it's below freezing. Then I hang my pack from a tree, its waterproof, an AARN pack, and then hang my organizer jobbies from a line from the tree to the biner on my hammock. The organizer on the right folds into itself into a small package with a zipper and the one on the left folds up and into its own stuffsack. If it rains I fold up the organizers and cover this stuff with my ground cloth.

I put extra clothing under my knees and head, take a Platypus for under my knees too if it's below freezing. Then I hang my pack from a tree, its waterproof, an AARN pack, and then hang my organizer jobbies from a line from the tree to the biner on my hammock. The organizer on the right folds into itself into a small package with a zipper and the one on the left folds up and into its own stuffsack. If it rains I fold up the organizers and cover this stuff with my ground cloth.

I wondered about those organizers when I first saw this picture. They look pretty handy!

I wonder what Dutch does with his stuff when he's strung up his bridgeskin?

I wonder what Dutch does with his stuff when he's strung up his bridgeskin?

Once the pack becomes a hammock and the backpad becomes a sleeping pad and the hiking poles are used as spreader bars all that is left is food and that gets hung in a tree. I do throw my hygene kit and and tioletries in with the food. If I do still have something small I can put it in the mesh pocket on the bottom of the hammock. Actually this is all theory since I haven't taken the bridgeskin anywhere except Mt Rodgers winter hang out. There I wore everything or kept a nice pile in the shelter. In any case I will always have a trash compactor bag to keep anything else dry.

.......I have seen some people (Hooch I think) who hangs their pack from a tree and then wraps their rain jacket around everything.

You are correct, sir. I did that at the RRG hang back in the fall. Was it you or Cerberus that it creeped out because they thought someone was standing there? If I'm not expecting rain, that's where it goes. But if I know or have a reasonable suspicion it's going to rain, it goes under the tarp with me wrapped in a plastic bag.

Take 2 pieces of the foam cut to the width and depth of your pack. Sew up some tarp material (I don't think I would use sil, too slippery) on 3 sides. Make it wide enough to accomodate the pads plus about an inch in the center. Put the 2 pads in and sew down the center and close the 4th side.

Fold it in half to work as a back pad in your pack and on top of a log to sit on around the campfire. Open it up and lay it on the ground to stand on at your hammock. Helps to keep the dirt and leaves out!

Originally Posted by dufus934

txulrich-
I love the idea of the mat/sit pad idea, and I must say that yours is much more advanced than mine. I just use a peice of wal-mart blue cc foam for my pad. I am definantely making your version tonight!